Tree for shoes and other footwear



July 1936- J. F. CLARK ET AL 2,047,450

TREE FOR SHOES AND OTHER FOOTWEAR Filed June 9, 1954 IwvaN-rovzs J- CLARK. E.. B CLARK Attovne L55 Patented July 14, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFieE TREE FOR- SHOESl AND OTHER FOOTWEAR 7' Claims.

Our inventionrelate's: to improvements in trees forshoe's'. and other: footwear',.and' the object of the; invention is to devise: a. tree particularly adaptable for holding:an1article:of footwear: in. perfect shape fionwind'ow display byholding the sole firmly in position in relation to the upper and the" flexible upper evenly distended at all points so that it? will. presenta: smooth exterior. rounded surface and, therefore, an. appearance most pleasing. totheieye, andinwhich the tree body will fit any makeof shoe without-1 any ad justment, andit' consists essentially. of the arrangement. and construction. of parts as. hereinafter more particularly explained. Fig. 1 is a sectional viewof ourtree applied to a shoe.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the body of the tree looking at the rear end.

Fig. 3 is a, perspective view of the body of the tree looking at the front end" with a portion of the cushionlayer broken-away to-exhibit the shell forming the base support thereof.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section'through Fig; 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective'view of a modified form.

'25 Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view through Fig; 5.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view throughanotlier'mod heel counter stiffened in any suitableway and 5 the inner sole. 6 is a shell formed of aluminum, fibre or any other light sheet material and' 'oon- 40" forming generally to the shape of the interior of the-shoe forepart, the'bottom wall 6 resting upon the inner sole and the upper wall 6 forming the top and sides of the shell opposing and spaced from the upper. between the shellwall 6 and upper is a layer 1 of resilient material such as sponge rubber which is cemented or otherwise suitably secured to the exterior surface of the wall 6. When the tree body is forced into the toe of the shoe, the layer 50 l is compressed more or less at various points according to the shape of the shoe so as to evenly fill out the upper and give the exterior thereof a smooth rounder contour to enhance its appearance for window display.

5 Although we have described the above con- In the interspace structionas: related tothe toe-portion of'the shoe, it might-.beapplied to any desiredportionof" the shoe-or, in certain cases; to the whole shoe.

In order. to hold the tree bodyin place,.we' provide a. heel: engaging: portion 8 preferably 5 formed of wire: bent back upon itself: in loop form; one-end 8. beingsecuredto the shell Giand'. the other end: 89 engaging in the teeth of an inclined rack- 9 secured tothebottom wall 6 ofthesshellfi so-as to. increase or decrease the for- 10- ward: pressure of. the tree body according to the style or shapeof theshoe; The base 8' of: the loop. iszcorrugated at. l9to:more:securely engage the"; counterof'the shoe.

In order to: increase'ithe. longitudinal stretch 5 of the shoe We: may. employ a. tonguev or strip H (see. Fig. '7) extending rearwardly from they tree body and bent upward to fit the heel as indicated ati H: such upturnedv portionv being tempered. so as to. tendto spring outward towards 20 the; dotted: position illustrated in: this". figure. and thus' exertlastretch between the toe" and:heel..

InFigs: 5. and 6.we show av modified. form. in which the: bottorrrwall of: the shell is* dispensed. with andithe shell. IZ'made'of: resilient material 5' so that the sideswill have outward pressure to hold the tree body in place. l3? and M'- are thumb. grips" by which: the: shell may be compressed. inward soas tozpermiti the withdrawal or'insertio-nof? the tree;

In Figha weshow a further modification in whicha -b'odyof cork lfitakes'the place of the shell as a carrier for the-resilient rubber pad: I6.

Although we have described our construction asrelatedto the ordinary shoe tree, it might be used in a manikin where the foot forms a tree and to which, therefore, our construction would. be applicable so that after the stocking is drawn onto: the manikinany style or shape of shoe may befitt'edon the manikims foot and be firmly held. 40 and-maintain its perfect shape.

In the form shown in Fig. 9; the tree is provided with aflexibleicovering: H'formed of knitted. or'woven" material so that it will: stretch. in. all

directions to snugly: fitany shape of tree and.

ble form of tree particularly adaptable for holding the flexible walls of a shoe or other footwear in place to fill out the shoe and impart to the exterior thereof a smooth, rounded surface so that the shoe, when in a store window, will be viewed to the best advantage and, at the same time, provide a tree which will fit various sizes and shapes of shoes.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A shoe tree, for use with a shoe or other footwear, having a flexible upper and a comparatively rigid sole, comprising a body formed of sheet material, a layer of resilient material extending over the body and secured thereto to be compressed between the body and upper when inserted in the shoe, resilient means bearing against the heel end of the shoe for holding the tree body in place, such means comprising a rack member formed in the tree body, a wire secured at one end to the tree body and bent back upon itself to form a loop hearing at its closed end against the heel and at its free end engaging the rack.

2. A shoe tree, for use with a shoe or other footwear, having a flexible upper and a comparatively rigid sole, comprising a body formed of sheet material, a layer of resilient material extending over the body and secured thereto to be compressed between the body and upper when inserted in the shoe, resilient means bearing against the heel end of the shoe for holding the tree body in place, such means comprising a rack member formed in the tree body, a wire secured at one end to the tree body and bent back upon itself to form a loop bearing at its closed end against the heel and at is free end engaging the rack, and corrugations formed in the closed end of the loop to frictionally engage the shoe at the heel end.

3. A shoe tree comprising a hollow core formed of resilient material with sides exerting an outward pressure tending to hold the tree in place, said core having an open bottom and having an upper surface contour of the general shape of the fore part of a shoe upper and having on such surface a pad of cellular rubber extending forwardly from a position approximately corresponding to a shoe vamp-line toward the toe, said pad having an upper surface contour conforming generally to the contour of the flexible fore part of a shoe upper and being compressible over local areas by portions of a shoe upper which do not conform with the pad surface without extruding the surface of other portions of the pad said pad cooperating with the resilient material of said core to effect a uniform distension of the flexible portion of a shoe upper from its vamp line toward its toe.

4. A shoe tree comprising a core member having an upper surface conforming generally with the contour of the flexible fore-part of a shoe upper and having on such surface a pad member of cellular rubber extending forwardly from a position approximately corresponding to a shoevamp line toward the toe, said pad member having an upper surface contour conforming generally to the contour of the flexible fore-part of a shoe upper and being compressible over local areas by portions of a shoe upper which do not conform with the pad surface without extruding the surface of other portions of the pad, and thereby effecting a uniform distension of the flexible portion of a shoe from its vamp line toward its toe, and means for compressing one of said members to facilitate the withdrawal of the tree from a shoe.

5. A shoe tree comprising a core member adapted to project into the fore-part of a shoe upper and having thereon a cellular rubber pad extending forwardly from a position approximately corresponding to a shoe-vamp line toward the toe, said pad having a surface contour conforming generally to the contour of the flexible fore-part of a shoe upper and being compressible over local areas by portions of a shoe upper forepart which do not conform with the pad surface and without extruding the surface of other portions of the pad, and a flexible sheathing for said pad, said sheathing being provided with a pull member for drawing said sheathing tightly against and compressing said pad to facilitate the withdrawal of the tree from a shoe without binding.

6. A shoe tree comprising a core consisting of a lower wall of sheet material conforming generally with the contour of the sole of the forepart of a shoe and an upper wall of sheet material connected at the toe with said lower wall and having an upper surface conforming generally with the contour of the flexible fore-part of the shoe upper, said upper wall diverging from the lower wall and forming therewith a mouth accessible through the throat of a shoe, and a sponge rubber pad on said upper surface, said pad having an upper surface contour conforming generally to the contour of the flexible fore-part of a shoe upper and being compressible over local areas by portions of a shoe upper fore-part which do not conform with the pad surface without extruding the surface of other portions of the pad.

'7. A shoe tree comprising a core having a substantially unyielding lower member for directly engaging the inner sole of a shoe, said core having an upper surface contour of the general shape of the fore part of a shoe upper and. having on such surface a pad of cellular rubber extending forwardly from a position approximately corresponding to a shoe vamp line of the shoe with which it is to be used toward the toe, said pad having an upper surface contour conforming gen erally to the contour of the flexible fore part of a shoe upper and being compressible over local areas by portions of a shoe upper which do not conform with the pad surface without extruding the surface of other portions of the pad, any thrust resulting from such compression being transmitted to the sole through said substantially unyielding lower member of the core, and a uniform distention of the flexible portion of a shoe upper from its vamp line toward its toe being thereby effected.

JAMES FRANKLIN CLARK. EDWARD BOWMAN CLARK. 

